war-game

1 of 2

verb

ˈwȯr-ˌgām 

war-gamed; war-gaming; war-games

transitive verb

: to plan or conduct in the manner of a war game

war-gamed an invasion

—Newsweek

intransitive verb

: to conduct a war game

war game

2 of 2

noun

1

: a simulated battle or campaign to test military concepts and usually conducted in conferences by officers acting as the opposing staffs

2

: a two-sided umpired training maneuver with actual elements of the armed forces participating

Examples of war-game in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

In detailed chapters on topics like modern war-game simulations and the misapplication of game theory in justifying mass privatization, Clancy warns of the societal risks of allowing mathematical models to govern political decisions. —The New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2024

Roger Livesey stars as Clive Candy, a lifelong British soldier first seen losing a war-games exercise after his young opponent chooses not to play by the rules. —Keith Phipps, Vulture, 26 May 2024

Noun

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has over the past five years staged almost daily military activities around the island, including war games that have practiced blockades and attacks on ports. —Reuters, CNN, 23 Oct. 2024

As evidence of China’s ability to take the island, Mastro points to U.S. war games in which China prevailed over the United States. —Rachel Esplin Odell, Foreign Affairs, 9 Aug. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

Verb

1942, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun

1828, in the meaning defined at sense 1